Josh McDaniels Would Make Sense in San Diego

The San Diego Chargers will soon begin looking for a new head coach. Norv Turner and A.J. Smith are likely out and the transition will start. The Chargers have an in-house replacement for Smith, but not Turner.

Hiring head coaches can be tricky, but one guy that seems to make sense is New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. Albert Breer of NFL.com tweeted that the Chargers could be interested in McDaniels.

That might seem scary because McDaniels washed out after less than two years in Denver, but circumstances would be different the second time around. In Denver, McDaniels had power to make personnel changes and he was ultimately fired for a series of blunders.

McDaniels traded Jay Cutler for two first-round picks and one third-round pick, and Brandon Marshall for two second-round picks. With those picks, McDaniels picked up only one star: Demaryius Thomas, who didn’t develop until this season.  

He also drafted Tim Tebow.

In San Diego, McDaniels wouldn’t have the power he had in Denver and would have to work with the players he was given. As a coach, McDaniels wasn’t bad in Denver and he was responsible for bringing Mike McCoy in as offensive coordinator who has become a hot candidate himself.

McDaniels’ offense leads the league in points scored, yards, plays run, rushing touchdowns and fewest interceptions. He’s also turned Stevan Ridley into a great running back. Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez have also been injured for most of the season and that hasn’t slowed the Patriots down.

Tom Brady is a big part of the equation, but McDaniels clearly knows what he is doing offensively. Maybe McDaniels is just the guy who can turn the offense around in San Diego. The Chargers could do much worse.